New Matter Podcast

CRISPR, microfluidics, lab management, the joy of winning an award, cellular imaging, innovative robotics, the evolving workplace and big data. These are just a few of the topics you’ll find on New Matter: Inside the Minds of SLAS Scientists.

Hosted on Buzzsprout, you can also find us on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and more.

Current Episode

Hear from Vasumitra “Vasu” Rao, MS, PhD candidate (University of Michigan), the 2025 recipient of the SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant.

Vasu’s work focuses on AI-driven characterization of non-model oral bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus mutans), aiming to predict microbial growth dynamics and biofilm formation using neural ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and automated high-throughput experiments. His research bridges gaps in microbiology by studying under-explored organisms beyond traditional models, such as E. coli. Potential applications include understanding cavity formation, drug discovery, and pharmacodynamics modeling.

He shares his unconventional path into AI/microbiology (inspired by chess and reinforcement learning), and discusses how the SLAS grant supports his exploratory research.

Most Recent Podcasts

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New Matter Podcast

2025 SLAS Graduate Education Fellowship Grant Recipient

July 28, 2025

Guest: Vasu Rao, MS, PhD Candidate

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New Matter Podcast

Student Perspectives on Research, Networking and Global Impact at Scientific Conferences

July 21, 2025

Guest: SLAS

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New Matter Podcast

Beyond the Hype | Practical AI Solutions from Expert Intelligence (Sponsored by Waters)

March 24, 2025

Guest: Lalin Theverapperuma, Ph.D. and Andreas "Andi" Krupke, Ph.D. (Expert Intelligence)

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New Matter Podcast

Innovation AveNEW Spotlight | React4Life's Organ-on-a-Chip System (Sponsored by Waters)

March 18, 2025

Guest: Silvia Scaglione, Ph.D. and Maurizio Aiello, Ph.D. (React4Life)

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New Matter Podcast

Ensuring Sample Integrity | Automation Challenges in Diagnostics

February 25, 2025

Guest: David Jennions, Ph.D. (GRAIL)

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New Matter Podcast

Democratizing Laboratory Robotics with Jon Brennan-Badal of Opentrons (Sponsored by United Robotics Group)

February 10, 2025

Guest: Jon Brennan-Badal (Opentrons)

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Have an idea for a podcast episode or series?

Is there a topic we haven’t covered that you can’t stop thinking about? Have you been in contact with a life sciences researcher, entrepreneur, innovation provider or inspired student who deserves to be featured? Want to hear another angle on a common topic?

Send your ideas, comments and feedback to SLAS Marketing Coordinator Devin Stone.